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August 5, 2009

Arachuvitta Vatha Kuzhambu Recipe

We had this arachuvitta vatha kuzhambu in a marriage function / Kalyana veedu. It was excellent. We all had 2 ,3 servings. One of my relatives asked the recipe from the cook and told my MIL. She tried at home and it came out well. Last week I made this for my husband’s lunch box along with chow chow kootu..It was a divinely combination. I stocked it and had for 2 days. Day by Day I found the taste got improved and made me thought, I could have made more quantity. So here comes the flavorful , Kalyana veedu style vatha kuzhambu..I’ve given the recipe for two people. You can increase the quantity based on your needs.

Ingredients

Tamarind – A big gooseberry size or a small lemon size

***Sambar powder – 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Sundakkai / Dried Turkey berry – 10 nos

Garlic – 10 – 12 flakes..

Gingely oil – 2 tbsp

Jaggery – a small piece

Salt & water – as needed.

To Roast & Grind:

Sesame oil - 2 tsp

Mustard seeds – 1/8 tsp

Fenugreek seeds – 1/4 tsp

Jeera – 1/2 tsp

Urad dal – 1/4 tsp

Red chillies - 5 nos

Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

Toor dal / Thuvaram paruppu – 1.5 tsp

Curry leaves - 1 small sprig ( 5 leaves)

Grated Coconut – 1 tsp

To Saute:

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Small onion- 5 nos (finely chopped)

Garlic – 3 flakes (finely chopped)

Curry leaves – a sprig (finely chopped)

Sesame Oil or cooking oil – 2 tbsp

Method:

Soak tamarind in water for 15 mins and extract the juice from it using 1 cup of water.

Add sambar powder,turmeric powder and salt to it..Keep aside.

Heat oil in a kadai with 2 tbsp of oil and roast the turkey berries/sundakkai vathal till nice aroma arises. Remove and Set aside.

In the remaining oil roast all the ingredients given under “roast & grind” in the same order. No need to roast the coconut. (Make sure no ingredient turns black.This will spoil the nice aroma of the gravy). Switch off the flame. Add the coconut, mix well. Cool and grind it to a paste by adding little water.

Then add the tamarind extract and let it boil for sometime. Add the jaggery.

Finally add the ground paste along with turkey berries and allow to boil for sometime. The gravy will become thick and reduce in volume. So add little water. It should neither be too thick nor watery.

Last but not the least, add 2 tsp of gingely oil , mix it and cover for 30 minutes to 1 hour for the taste to infuse well.

Serve with any kootu and papad!!Note:
It tasted best the next day. So prepare at least two, three hours in advance before serving if you are using on the same day to enjoy its best taste !! I’ve added the turkey berries at the end because I want it a bit crunchy..If u like, you can add with tamarind extract in the beginning.

***OUR SAMBAR POWDER:

Coriander seeds – 1/4 kg ( 1.25 cup)

Red chilly(long ones) – 1/4 kg (1.25 cup)

Fenugreek seeds – 50 gms ( 1/4 cup)

Toor dal – 50 gms (1/4 cup)

Channa dal – 50 gms (1/4 cup)

Pepper corns – 50 gms (1/4 cup)

Jeera – 2 tbsp

Turmeric powder – 50 gms (1/4 cup)

We usually grind this in flour mill and use it for 3-4 months …We use this powder for Sambar , vathakuzhambu , pitlai , poricha kuzhambu ,Kootu , poriyal and paruppu rasam.This powder plays the major role in our day-to-day cooking..We don’t use red chilly powder at all. This is an all rounder podi for us.

For this kuzhambu , u can use any brand sambar powder or replace with 1 tsp of coriander powder and 1/2 tsp of red chillI powder.

Nice one Chitra..even I dunno what Sundakkai is..is it a small green thing,that looks like big peas??The kuzhambu format is the same we follow for varatharappu..me n husband really love it ..make it with pavakka,egg plant etc..n yes as u said taste increases as it sits ..:)

Thanks a lot dearies :)@suparna , varsha and poornima nair:YES varsha, wat u've told is correct..Its looks like green peas only but full of seeds in it..I used its dried form which is whitish grey in color.its called sundakkai vatral..@suparna, u can try this kuzhambu with whole Garlic flakes alone..If u wish to add veggies, u can add brinjal:)Hope i've answered u all :)

@shri, thanks for ur sweet words dear and this is not sambhar exactly..For sambhar we use boiled toor dal and seasoning items are different..literally this is vatral kuzhambu..Ur husband is partly correct..:)